The Dark Lord Arises
by gokuforeverx1262
Summary: The rise of Sauron and his downfall and the story of his return. Also a study of his land and others. Please R&R. Constructive critiscism welcomed.
1. Chapter 1

The Dark Lord Arises

Prologue

Elendil the Tall came to Middle-Earth near the end of the Second Age. He came with a fleet of four ships, Isildur his first son came with three and Anarion the younger with two ships. They came with their followers and loved ones. Elendil was parted with his sons in the voyage and landed at Lindon, where ruled Ereinon son of Fingon Fingolfin's son or Gil-Galad, and among the things that they brought to Middle-Earth were seven _palantiri _or seeing stones, which the elves of Tol Eressea had gifted to the Numenoreans. Elendil presently created the realm of Arnor. At this time he met again his sons, whose ships had been carried by the tide into the south. They had established the realm of Gondor and Anarion dwelt in Minas Anor, the Tower of the Rising Sun, while Isildur dwelt in Minas Ithil, the Tower of the Rising Moon. For a short time there was mirth and all things were happy. But unbeknownst to the Quendi and the Atani, in barren lands east of Gondor, Gorthaur was yet awake, for he had escaped the Great wave, and survived still, and he was the enemy of both man and elf, for Sauron had tried to claim the elven rings of power and also caused the destruction of Numenor, earning him the fiercest hatred known in Middle-Earth.


	2. Chapter 2

The story of Mairon and Afalanime

Once there was a time when there were no creatures other than the Lonely One, Eru. But then he made the Ainur and they made the Ainulindale, or the music of the Ainur, which created Ea and Arda. A few of the Ainur travelled to Arda and marveled at the beauty of their creations. The chief of these were the Valar, while their servants came to be known as the Maiar. The first to arrive was Melkor, who was the strongest of the Valar, but he put his powers to bad use, and when his fellow Ainur arrived they saw that much of the world's beauty was destroyed by Melkor. So they took up arms against him. He was sent outside the walls of the night, but he found a way back in and created Utumno. But he did not attack any part of middle-earth. Then all things were happy for a time and two large lamps were constructed to light up the world.

Now Aule's greatest servants were Mairon and Afalanime, and they were great friends. But Afalanime desired power above all things, and slowly and secretly Melkor seduced him with false promises of great power. One dark night, Mandos, who can foretell many things which can happen, came to Mairon.

''Beware of your dear friend, Afalanime, for he has turned to the dark side. You must not follow him, for you are the most powerful Maiar of Aule now. Afalanime is no longer Aule's servant. Tonight he shall pledge allegiance to the One who has turned. Do not listen to him, for he will come to you and will try to persuade you to join him. And do not try to persuade him, he will not listen, he is too stubborn'', said Mandos

Mairon nodded his head and stood upright, but secretly in his heart, he wept because he knew that this would become true, and that Mandos does not lie.

Rain fell that night, and Afalanime visited Mairon, as Mandos had prophesied. When Mairon refused Afalanime cursed his name and walked away, into the night.

For many years then Afalanime did not return, but Mairon wept every night for him and happiness left his life forever. Mairon withdrew from all the activities that the Ainur participated in.

One night an attack was made on The Isle of Almaren, from the deeps of Utumno, and at the same time the lamps were destroyed. Mairon's rage against Melkor was great, and he fought fiercely. But as the forces of Melkor retreated, Mairon recognized a face, even in the darkness. It was Afalanime.

Mairon touched his bloody face and he told him that it would be okay, but Mairon's wound was deep, and Afalanime perished. Mairon fell to his knees and moaned loudly, and then cursed the name of Eru three times. But after a few minutes he got up and then walked north, to the mountains, and Mandos saw him, but said nothing.

When Mairon reached the gates of Utumno, he was not obstructed by the guards, for they knew of the damage caused by him, and they were afraid. He walked into the Hall of Melkor, but Melkor did not stir as he stood in front of him. Mairon stood in silence for a moment. But soon Melkor addressed him.

"Why have you come here," said he.

"I have come to make a deal with you," Said Mairon.

"What deal is that, may I ask?"

"Return Afalanime to me, and I will pledge my allegiance to you"

"And why would I need your service?"

"I have come not for you but for the sake of Afalanime"

"You dare speak thus to Melkor, Lord of Utumno? And indeed the fall of Afalanime is known to me and I am happy, for he was a bad servant, and not strong"

"Silence! You shall not speak so of Afalanime! He was noble and more so than even you"

Then Melkor laughed, and his laugh rang out through the hall.

"This was but a test for you, which you have passed. Indeed you have deep inside you a desire for power. And you have the great rage needed for fulfillment of that desire. Yes, I shall call back Afalanime from the dead, but he will not speak, and he will have no emotion. He will be blank-faced. Are you willing?"

Mairon in his folly accepted, and in the Deeps of Hell, he was given a vault, more like a dungeon. No light was present there, except for two brackets of fire, and a strange vial with a green light protruding from it. As Mairon walked to it he saw slowly a life sized image of Afalanime coming out. And Mairon rejoiced and for a little while was happy. But Afalanime was only a false image, and slowly, the image of seeing his best friend standing with no emotion, no response, no happiness, tore his heart away.

So Sauron came into being, heartless one. He became a great lieutenant of Melkor, and his lust for power became great. He lost all the nobility of a true Ainu and became a destroyed creature. And when the War of Wrath finished, he spun evil of his own, and became the Enemy of Middle-Earth. And he employed orcs and other evil creatures to do his bidding.

So ends the Tale of Mairon and Afalanime.


	3. Chapter 3

The fall of Carcapon

Carcapon was the greatest lieutenant of Melkor. He was feared by all people who had the bad luck to have seen his horrible face. His name of old was unknown and he did not reveal it to anybody. He was one of the strongest Ainur known on Arda and where he walked, the earth shook

Now once he challenged Mairon to battle. Mairon was afraid but still he fought. His weapons were a flail and a shield. Carcapon had a sword and a shield. The fight was in a hall and many other creatures of Melkor were present

The first move of the fight was delivered by Carcapon. He swung his sword at Mairon's neck. But Mairon was quick and he moved back at once. Then he swung the flail twice around his head, and brought it down in a swing towards the waist of Carcapon. The spikes of the ball crushed his muscle and blood appeared there. Carcapon in great rage stabbed his sword at Mairon. Mairon was taken by surprise, and he raised up his shield. But it was just a trick. As Mairon blocked the stab of the sword, Carcapon flung his sword down onto Mairon's leg. Black blood gushed out. Mairon fell to the ground, vomiting blood. As Carcapon was about to kill Mairon, he flung his sword away.

"Get thee gone, worm, thou art not worth killing, "said Carcapon. And then he turned his back on Mairon and started walking away, laughing softly.

But Mairon was not utterly spent. He remembered his days of greatness at the dwelling of Aule, and the fear of the guards of Utumno. Slowly, still vomiting, he got up and, hunched, he crept to Carcapon's sword. He lifted it up then, and screaming, he ran up to Carcapon, who turned back and looked. But Mairon was too fast, and before Carcapon could react, he had stabbed him. So fell Carcapon, and since then Mairon was Melkor's greatest lieutenant.

This is the last to be told of Sauron in the First Age. The rest of his stories are after the overthrow of Melkor


	4. Chapter 4

Sauron in Middle-Earth

It is said that when Melkor had been overthrown, Sauron begged Eonwe, the herald of Manwe, to pardon him. But Eonwe was not a Vala and he did not have the power to judge Sauron. He bade Sauron to join him in his voyage to Aman and then to sue for pardon at the feet of the Aratar. But he also warned him that he would probably be chained and jailed for many years as punishment for joining Melkor. Eonwe told him that what he did was wrong and he would mostly face punishment.

Then Sauron the Maia decided to hide in Middle-Earth, for he would not be shamed by punishment. He was no longer kind and good Mairon. He had faced great warriors in battle and he had destroyed many of the strongest of them, whether they be elf, man, or Maia. After a thousand years in hiding, he travelled to the east and he dwelt in hot and desert conditions. He made the great tower of Barad Dur and employed orcs, wargs, trolls and other evil creatures to do his biddings. Then he established the realm of Mordor.

Sauron forged a great friendship with the Haradrim and the Variags of Khand. Indeed Harad was a vast land and many fierce warriors there were in the realm, and the warriors of Khand were feared in every place they had been seen in. Both of these races he often rewarded for their service, but he only desired power, not friendship, and his plan was to deceive the Southrons and to conquer even their lands. However, Sauron could not conquer the Northmen, who were the Lords of the lands to the north of Mordor, for they were ever suspicious of the desert lands of Mordor and had heard dark tales of it. But even though much activity was present in the Nameless realm, Sauron seldom came out of his tower, and he left his work to the orcs, who hated and feared him.

A short description must be made of the creatures that Sauron took as servants and slaves. The strongest creatures that he took to his service were the trolls. But these were not the normal mindless trolls found in the stories of Northmen and elves. Sauron with the help of dark arts bred the Olog-Hai, the strongest type of troll ever found. These creatures lived for longer than normal trolls and they were very difficult to slay. Their skin was hard and they were more serious than their foolish cousins. They were quick to anger. But Sauron was their master and Sauron alone, and they could not be controlled by any other living being.

Another creature which Sauron took the help of was the were large wolf-like creatures, who had earned great renown for their cunning, and there were no speechless beasts found on Middle-Earth who had such wit.

The most commonly found slave of Sauron was the Orc. The story of these creatures must be told. Before the coming of the Atani, Melkor kidnapped many elves, and tortured them. After many years of pain and torture, they became evil and miserable, and they started to spread in number and slowly, ever so slowly, the orcs came into being, the corruption of elves. Later, when Melkor was thrust out into the void, a few of the Orcs joined Sauron and came to Middle-Earth. Often these orcs would plunder, torture and kidnap other creatures. Many of the orcs were known to ride on warg-back in battle and those two races remained allied to each other.

But by far the most terrifying creatures found under the control of Sauron were the Spiders. These creatures devour anything that they find and they enjoy the darkness. They look much like the smaller insects of the same name, but they were much larger, about man-high, and they can only be injured at one spot: their eyes. These creatures were actually present before Sauron came, but when he did come they showed obedience towards him, for he was a servant of Melkor, and likewise it was for their ancestors.

And now it would be fit to describe the land of Mordor and its borders.

Mordor as described earlier was mostly a barren land, but there were a few features to be described, such as the Valley of Terror, Udun, in the north-west of Ered Lithui or the Pass of the Spider, Cirith Ungol. Both the latter and the former were dwellings of the terrible spiders described above, but at different times. Udun was a valley formed at the meeting of six great mountains, which were later known as Oron Qualme, the Mountains of Death. Its depth provided the spiders' shelter from the heat and light of the Sun which they hated so much. But soon when the last Alliance of Men and Elves passed through that way, the spiders were killed by the Lord of Arnor, Elendil, and his marching army, leaving only one evil, twisted creature, who came to be known as Shelob

Shelob soon travelled south to the Ephel Duath Mountains, which was the easternmost border of Mordor. She dwelt in Cirith Ungol. In that pass was contained the Watchtower of Cirith Ungol, and orcs of Mordor often kept watch there, but they were wary of Shelob. But Sauron called her his 'pet' and often he would provide her with dead bodies of orcs and trolls.

In the north the border of Mordor was the Ered Lithui, or the Ash mountains, and beyond that there was Dagorland, or the Battle Plain, and the Dead Marshes.

To the south there were the Harad Mountains. These were the steepest mountains in Middle-Earth, but nothing else is there to be said about them. To the east, there was the temperate land of Rhun, which later in the Third Age allied itself with Mordor.

But to the south of Mordor there was a cooler land, which was called Nurn, and there was contained the inland Sea of Nurnen.

Now the tale of Sauron's flight, a description of the creatures he allied himself with and of the lands of Mordor have been provided we can proceed with the story of Sauron the Abhorred, the tale of the Rings of Power, and the greatest battle fought on Middle-Earth.


End file.
